Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Finding affordable health insurance

As our children get older and go out on their own there are several things that come up that need to be addressed. One of the smallest is, as the parent, the reminders that I no longer have a child, but a young adult. Every single form I fill out now asks are there children under the age of 18 in the home. Well, regardless of how old my daughter Amber gets she’ll still be my child. It’s just weird to be reminded that she’s an adult.

One of the largest things that needs to be considered is health insurance. All of my children had the same health insurance and it was for minors. Now that my oldest has turned 19 she no longer qualifies, and as a freelance editor and writer who’s also a veteran, I don’t take advantage of typical health insurance. So there’s nothing to add her to.

Now it’s a matter of finding her adequate health coverage for routine check ups, prescriptions and emergencies. My main concern with a lapse in health insurance for her is that since she’s had ongoing medical concerns that she’ll be presented with an emergency situation before this is taken care of. As the parent of a child, I’m worried. As the parent of a young adult, I’m hoping she can get it worked out.

With a little input and help from myself and her godfather, Amber is hopefully on the right track to finding a health insurance plan that will take care of all of her needs. We all know that the ideal plan has low monthly premiums, inexpensive co-pays, convenient prescription plan and the ability to utilize specialists and find second opinions outside of a network without a lot of hassle. The best is a private health insurance package that fits every budget.

If you have older children what did you do concerning their health coverage? If you’re self-employed what health plans do you have in place?